


to vicarious living and meeting new people

by Hobis_Spoon



Series: Reylo Works [2]
Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben Solo A.K.A Antisocial King, Comedic Relief Central, Crack, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn with Feelings, Resolved Sexual Tension, Rey is a ball of sunshine, Size Difference
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:54:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24941884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobis_Spoon/pseuds/Hobis_Spoon
Summary: Rey likes to throw holiday parties.Ben doesn't like parties of any kind but he likes Rey, and he decides that he'll go to as many parties as she wants on the off chance she likes him too.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron/Paige Tico, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Reylo Works [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834900
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	1. 4th of July

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fourth of July, 1776, the birth of a nation. Fourth of July, now, the start of something new?

"Okay. Yup, see you in a bit," Poe hung up his phone, shoving the device back into his pocket. "She's coming down now."

"Oh, really?" Ben said sarcastically, leaning back onto the hood of his car. 

"Listen, I know you're gonna miss me, but I'm a necessity to my sister's awesome holiday parties," Poe chuckled, delivering a lighthearted punch to Ben's arm.

Ben scowled in response. "Yeah, in your dreams buddy. I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight," he scratched his pectoral muscle over his Henley. He observed the area to get a little familiar with the place.

Poe hoisted his shoulder bag off of his person and dropped it on the outdoor step to the peach-bricked apartment building.

"Thanks for this anyway," he gestured to Ben's black Lexus. "Do you remember when you have to pick me up?"

Ben rolled his eyes, "In a week, dummy. I don't have the memory of a fish, you know that right?"

Just then, the door to the apartment building opened up to reveal one of the prettiest women Ben had ever seen in his life. There she stood in her white spaghetti strap sundress, the fabric tight around her bust and flaring out from her shapely hips. The soft-looking material fluttered around her thighs with the light breeze, meanwhile her gold necklace and tan skin shimmering in the sunlight. She wore her brown hair up, to Ben's amusement, in three little buns.

She squealed upon seeing her brother and hurried down the steps, jumping into his waiting arms.

Poe wrapped his arms around her with a laugh. "Rey!" he lifted her off the ground and spun her around, and Ben had never been more envious in his entire life. Her giggles were the auditory equivalent to honey and Ben felt somewhat embarrassed at the fact that his knees growing weak at the sight of her megawatt smile.

"Oh my goodness, I missed you so much!" she yelled, grabbing her brother's face and plopping two fat kisses on each of his cheeks. Poe scrunched his nose and groaned, "Ease up on the kisses, little one."

"Never," she grinned at him widely, clasping her hands in front of her stomach. "And who's this?" she turned to Ben.

_Holy shit. Holy shit._

_Okay, act cool._

Ben planted his massive hand onto the roof of his car, and quickly pulled it back when it nearly seared his skin off. He bit back the yelp that wanted to escape his mouth, and instead opted for a kind smile.

"Ah, this is Ben Solo. My roommate/slave," Poe snickered. Rey smiled at him and extended her hand to him. Ben gulped and quickly enveloped her hand in his much larger one. Jesus, she was so small compared to him.

"Wow, you're tall, aren't you?" she said with a giggle, bringing her hand up to her cover her eyes from the glaring sun.

Ben chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I guess so. The weather is pretty great up here by the way," he reveled in the way she laughed, her plump lips separating to release the sweetest sound he had ever heard.

"You're funny," she slapped his chest lightly. Ben was hoping that she hadn't felt just how hard his heart was beating in his chest.

Poe snorted. "Not all the time. I think he's just trying to make you laugh," he wagged his eyebrows at his sister. Ben felt the tips of his ears growing pink with humiliation. 

"Shut up," he mumbled, fishing his keys out of his pocket. "This is definitely my cue to leave."

"Yeah, shut up Poe," Rey concurred. She reached out her hand and placed it on Ben's bicep, making his heart skip a beat. "Stay for a bit! You don't have any urgent plans, do you?"

He didn't know if she was doing it intentionally, but her ever so slightly tightening grip on his bicep and the batting of her eyelashes were beginning to make him sweat. And really, who was he to deny such a sweet request? "I suppose I can stay for a little while," he said to her, putting his keys back into his pocket.

Ben was hoping that her awesome holiday parties, as Poe had put it, weren't as awesome as he said they were because that would mean people and Ben wasn't really keen on being around a lot of people. Though the sound of her excited squeal made it all worthwhile. Hell, he'd walk through a thrum of sweaty, noisy people if it meant he got to hear her laugh just one more time.

She grabbed both Ben and her brother with a gleaming smile and dragged them towards the entrance of the building.

"Okay, the guest room has your name on it, put your stuff in there," Rey gave her brother the keys to her apartment. "We'll be on the roof and don't even _think_ about touching the cheesecake in the fridge!" she told him, pinching his cheeks. 

"As if I even knew there was a cheesecake in there," Poe murmured, slapping her hand away from his cheek. "But now that I do, I'm definitely gonna take a bite," he laughed, running into the apartment and slamming the door behind him.

"Little shit," Rey mumbled under her breath, retaking Ben's arm in her hand and guiding him towards the staircase to the roof. "He always eats my food. Even when I was little and started cooking for the first time, he'd eat everything no matter how bad it tasted... Not that I would even _know_ how it tasted since it was in that mouth of his before I even got to try it. He's like a human vacuum, it's ridiculous."

Ben chuckled at her ranting, sympathising with her. He was more than familiar with Poe's vacuous tendencies when it came to the food in their apartment.

He cleared his throat and hummed. "This is a nice apartment building, by the way." He looked around at the clean, white hallways that were bathed in the sunlight from the adjacent windows. It was a lame conversation starter, but a conversation starter nonetheless.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," she pulled him towards the stairs, walking a few steps ahead of him which made him gulp, making him look away from her rear end.

"You have got to tell me some embarrassing stuff about Poe-Poe, I need new blackmail material," Rey tugged on his arm, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. Ben raised his eyebrows at her and chuckled.

Poe-Poe, huh? He hasn't heard that one before. It's great mocking material, Ben thought to himself. He'll use that one for later when his roommate's being more annoying than usual.

Ben had a few of Poe's embarrassing secrets under his belt, which weren't very hard to attain seeing as they'd been roommates for a couple of years, though he didn't think Rey would be all that interested in the fact that the majority of those embarrassing tidbits happened to be sexual in nature.

Like how Poe had a tendency to yell _'Purple rain!'_ at his climax, or that Poe has since avoided blondes at bars ever since a blonde girl had deepthroated him and gotten sick all over him. One of these secrets had to be PC enough to recount to her...

Ben cleared his throat. "He got busy with a girl that cosplayed as a cockroach a few months ago," he shrugged shrugged. Rey paused on the steps and broke out into what Ben would describe as the most beautiful laughter. She placed both her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, "Oh that is a _good_ one," she wheezed. She mumbled something about being excited to use it against her brother.

Her small hands on his body made him feel hot all over. 

She grabbed his arm again and began the climb again, "So what'd you have planned for this holiday?" she asks him, briefly looking over her shoulder to catch his gaze.

He stuttered, almost tripping over his own feet upon meeting her brown eyes. "Nothing important. I was looking forward to sleeping in a quiet apartment, to be completely honest," he told her earnestly, chuckling to himself.

Rey paused again and turned to look at him again. "You don't wanna spend it with your family?"

Ben looked away from her keen eyes and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Not really."

She gazed at his face for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face, until she realised what she was doing. "Sorry, it's none of my business," she turned back around, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other instead of in her mouth. "The least I can do is make sure you have a little fun today," she smiled to herself.

Why wouldn't he want to spend time with his family on this holiday? Did he even have a family? Was he an orphan like her? Well, she wasn't an orphan anymore. After she'd spent a year in the orphanage, and Poe's parents adopted her at the tender age of six, she felt the warmth of a family for the first time. 

She remembers when Shara and Kes first brought her home and she'd seen Poe for the first time. There he was in his plaid shirt and shaggy-haired glory, looking down at her with a quirked brow. He was in college at the time and since she knew he wouldn't be home very often, she did whatever she could to get close to him, much to his chagrin.

She remembers how he'd try and push her away when his friends were over, their teasing words making his cheeks grow red. Rey was just a little kid looking for affection and love and no matter how reluctant Poe was at first, he learned to accept that it was just the way she was.

She is. and would forever be, the little sister he never knew he wanted. And she never ever wanted to lose her family. So just _why_ would Ben not want to spend time with his?

Rey continued to internally question herself with her brows furrowed, intently reviewing each possibility as to why he'd want to avoid his family on such an occasion. Perhaps she was too deep in thought because the next thing she knew, her feet had failed to meet the next step.

It wasn't so bad. She was being pulled back with the force of the ocean, pressed into the berth of a strong chest. At least her face wasn't being smashed into the ground.

"Jesus," Ben murmured, his face buried in the back of her neck. His warm breath fanned across her skin, making her shiver in the process. Her body was contoured against his. His hands on her waist, pulling her into him so that she wouldn't hurt herself, meanwhile, her back was flush against his broad chest.

Trying to avoid complete humiliation, he hoisted her up so that her feet were planted onto the step in front of him, praying to every God that she didn't feel his semi-boner pressing into her pert backside. She murmured something under her breath and smiled at him warmly.

Rey huffed, wide-eyed. "Thanks," she flattened her palms against the front of her dress, straightening her back. "I don't know if Poe told you, but I'm a bit of a klutz."

"He hasn't told me that much, but he may have mentioned something about that," Ben chuckled to ease the tension, and most definitely to shift the focus. Though, it was true, Poe didn't talk about his family very much which was great for Ben since he didn't have to disclose much information about his own family in return. All Ben knew about Poe's family was that he had two chill parents that were pilots in the air force and that he had a younger sister. It would've been nice to have seen a picture of her so Ben could've at least prepared himself in advance.

They'd finally reached the top of the stairs and she'd opened the door to him revealing a decked out rooftop. Most of the ground was covered in faux grass and there were wooden tables littered around with umbrellas erected over them to protect the party-goers from the glare of the relentless sun.

The walls of the building were covered in bright green vines. Suspended above the ground, there were string lights attached to poles at the edge of the building. In one corner there was a pop-up bar surrounded with stools and behind it, there were two tall shelves with colourful liquors and bottles of alcohol.

Ben had to admit that it looked like a pretty good setup, and it probably would've looked even better if there weren't so many people around — which there were. Groups of people occupied the tables and there were batches of people scattered around talking amongst one another and moving to the upbeat music. 

Much to his surprise, Ben saw a familiar set of red hair manning the grill. There in his Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts and brown sandals, his pale face covered with black sunglasses and four white stripes of sunscreen slathered across his cheeks, nose, and forehead stood the infamously severe Armitage Hux looking... not-so-severe.

"Holy shit, Ben Solo," Rey managed to hear over the pounding music. It was coming from Hux, who was fervently waving his tongs wildly in the air with a wide grin, transparent smoke billowing from the grill below him.

Rey squinted in the sun, craning her neck to look up to see Ben's unreadable expression. "You guys know each other?"

"Reluctantly," Ben said just loud enough to be heard over the music.

Rey shrugged in response and had retaken his arm, guiding him to the closest table, which happened to be occupied.

"Hey, peanut," a dark-skinned gentleman in a brown leather jacket grinned, wrapping an arm around Rey's waist and bringing her flush to his side. She giggled and slapped his chest in jest. "Ew, stop it," she pleaded, leaning her head on his shoulder.

It was the one time in his life that Ben wished he was shorter so she could gently plop her head on his shoulder whenever she wanted.

But not being short enough wasn't the issue, it was the fact that this guy was probably her boyfriend, which made Ben feel upset. Did he even have a right to be? It's not like she was his.

Rey planted a hand on Finn's chest to stop him from talking, "Finny, this is Ben. Poe's roommate/slave," she laughed lightheartedly, remembering her brother's joke from earlier. From what she could see in the corner of her eye, the corner of Ben's lips twitched.

"Hey man, I'm Finn. Rey's dream man and steak connoisseur," the gentleman with Rey in his arms greeted Ben, putting down his drink and extending his free hand towards him. 

"Nice to meet you," Ben nodded curtly, shaking his hand firmly and dropping it to the table with a deflated attitude.

"Baby, I made it!" a rather short girl came bounding to Finn's side, bouncing excitedly. Finn's eyes widened upon seeing her, wrapping his other free arm to bring the newcomer into his side. Great. Now he had two beautiful women at his side. How greedy was this guy?

Finn looked almost close to tears, embracing the small girl as tightly as he could with his one free arm. "Rose, baby, I missed you so much."

Much to Ben's surprise, Rey slipped out of Finn's arm with a grimace. "This is our cue to leave. The longer those two are apart, the longer they kiss and they've been apart for about... six hours, so we should give them some privacy."

As she was dragging him along, she explained to him the nature of their relationship. "So that's Finn and Rose, my roommates. It was torture seeing them tiptoe around each other for the last couple of years so I set them up and now it's even worse with all the PDA."

So Rey is single. That's... good.

While Ben was being nosey and looking back to see Finn and the 'Rose' girl encased in a heated make-out session, amazed at how quickly their passion had escalated, he hadn't felt the small hand that slipped into his. It was certainly a good change from being dragged by the arm. It was nice to feel her warmth, which did wonders to ebb the thumping of his heart. Now, Ben wasn't exactly someone with sensitive skin, but that girl had quite the grip and he was sure he'd see some sign of bruises on his arms by the morning.

He wondered what else that grip could do but his lewd thoughts were rudely interrupted by the pale face of a particular redheaded grill-master. "Want a hot-dog?" Hux grinned, dipping the tongs down to flip the Frankfurters on the grill. He flipped up the black sunglasses so they rested atop his neatly pulled back hair.

Rey dropped Ben's hand and nodded, smiling widely. Licking her lips in anticipation, Hux grabbed a bun and slathered it in ketchup and mustard before plopping a red sausage in the split bread, handing it to her with a napkin. Ben raised an inquisitive brow at her, wondering if she was aware of how good she looked while eating the American staple food.

Hux looked at Ben expectantly, gesturing to the pile of buns with his tongs.

"I'm good, thanks," Ben gave him a tight smile, dipping his empty hands into his pockets. "What are you doing here by the way? I thought you were on the other side of the city?"

"Geez, Solo, it's been like... three years since I've last seen you? A lot has changed since then. I actually work for your uncle now," Hux explained, plopping cooked meat into a tray and putting more raw ingredients on the heated grill, casually seasoning the meat as he went along.

"You what?" he scrunched his nose in confusion. It wasn't exactly a bad thing, it was just such a drastically different sentence to what he was expecting from the redhead's mouth.

Hux nodded. "Skywalker & Kenobi Law," he flipped the meat once again, leaning back from a particularly high flame rising from the grease.

Rey swallowed her mouth full of hot-dog and gasped, "So you're a lawyer like Armie, huh? And do my ears deceive me, is Luke your uncle?"

How did she know that... "Hux and I are co-workers and he also happens to be my neighbour," Rey added with a giggle, taking another bite of her hot-dog. Seeing her eating something so phallic would've been doing something to him if his mind wasn't already preoccupied thinking about Hux and Rey being close in the workplace. Oh god... Were they dating? They seemed so close but surely she would've said something about it.

Ben nodded slowly, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, he's my uncle," he confessed. "And yeah, I was a lawyer."

"Was? Uh-oh," Rey raised her eyebrows in concern, dabbing the corners of her plump lips with her provided napkin. 

He shrugged carelessly, "It was just a toxic environment, wasn't very good for me and if I'm being honest, it's not good for anyone. The Snoke firm is full of assholes," he chided. Rey was familiar with the Snoke firm. They defended a lot of problematic figures over the years, and she'd heard about how hostile the work environment was through the grapevine.

With someone as intense looking as Ben, Rey was beginning to imagine him in a pressed black suit, passionately arguing in the courtroom. It didn't look so bad in her mind.

Hux chuckled, "I suppose you would've fit in perfectly, then."

"You know I did because you were there," Ben rolled his eyes.

Ah, Rey thought to herself, so that's where Hux worked prior to Skywalker & Kenobi Law.

Hux pursed his lips, "Touché. So, when did you quit?"

"About 6 months ago," he smiled to himself, dipping his head down low. 

"You should come and join us at S&K, Ben," Hux flipped the meat once again, the sizzle roaring through the warm Summer air. "I imagine your uncle would be happy to have you at the firm."

Ben scoffed, "You and I do not work well together. Even before that Snoke bullshit, we were fighting all the time. Remember summer camp?"

Rey eyed them both curiously, chewing her hotdog in silence with an amused look on her face.

Hux did his best to contain a snort. "Rey, before Luke was the head of the firm, he used to run this summer camp and he hired Ben and I to be camp counsellors. Needless to say, we turned our respective groups of children against each other and it was utter chaos."

She laughed, slapping a hand over her mouth. She wondered just how far back they went and just how strong their friendship was, if they could even call it that. It sounded more like... a healthy rivalry.

"I'm surprised that old codger even hired you after you almost burned down the camp," Ben chuckled. 

Hux quickly flipped the meat and put the ready grub into the respective trays, "Listen, if it wasn't for that little shit in your group, Penny, then my Jay wouldn't have had to retaliate."

Ben narrowed his eyes at the redheaded man in front of him, "With fire? Seriously? I wonder where he found those matches, dumbass."

"You planted them in my room!" Hux retaliated.

Ben ran his hand through his hair, much to Rey's quiet delight. "That has never been proven. What was he doing sneaking in cabins and playing with matches anyway?"

"He was seven!"

"And Penny was eight."

"So?"

"It means there's a pecking order and he should've stayed in line," Ben smirked, crossing his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging under his long white sleeves.

"Hey guys," Rey quipped, earning both of their keen eyes and ears, their attention firmly on her gleeful face. "Shut up," she smiled at them sweetly, patting Hux gently on the cheek.

"Wha— but he—" Hux scoffed, attempting to redeem himself.

"No, no. This court is no longer in session," Rey gave him a mischievous smile, patting him a pinch more aggressively than the last time. "Keep cooking that meat, grill-master!"

She discarded her napkin in a nearby wastebasket, retaking Ben's hand in her own. He was surprised to see that she had managed to subdue Hux in the way that she did, knowing that he was one of the most stubborn people he'd ever met.

She guided him through the crowd, throwing a smile to each and every person that greeted her as she passed them by. It was apparent that she was heading for the open bar in the other corner of the roof. "I know you can't drink because you're gonna be driving soon, but just live vicariously through me for a moment and tell me what you'll have."

He raised an eyebrow at her with a delighted smile on his face, taken aback by her straightforward and thoughtful approach to him. He's known her for less than 30 minutes and he already knows that she is the beautiful younger sister of his roommate, the co-worker of his frenemy and quite possibly the woman of his dreams. Rey was undeniably sweet, her warm attitude and quick wit only working to prove that.

From that moment he'd met her, she'd managed to make him feel like he wasn't as alone as he thought he was. She was here with him now and hasn't left his side since he first saw her. Ben was sure that if it were any other person in Rey's shoes, they would've abandoned him with a group of people that they would've assumed he could fit in with but no, she was here with him. She was attentive and kind and her eyes gleamed in the summer sun, her white sundress and soft hands doing nothing to stop his heart from considering leaping out of his chest.

"I wouldn't want to punish you like that, Rey," he pulled out a stool for her, which she pulled herself up onto with the help of his hand. "Unless you and whiskey are familiar with one another."

Rey gave him a curt 'Ha!', slapping her thigh, a charming brow raise etching onto her face. "Oh, absolutely. He was right outside my door the moment I turned twenty-one, buddy! Although, I think he hates me," she joked, leaning her arms against the bar top which happened to press her breasts even higher in her dress. "Can't manage to keep him down for the night."

She snorted, covering her face with her hands. "I just realised how dirty that sounded," so did Ben, and he didn't mind one bit. Was that too perverted? "But whatever! Live vicariously through me, Ben Solo, my dear brother's roommate and my neighbour's ex-co-worker and ex-co-summer-camp-counsellor's friend," she recounted proudly, turning in her stool to face the bartender. "Double whiskey on the rocks, please ma'am!"

And so Rey was quickly served with a round glass filled with neat cubes of ice and double whiskey, earning a worried look from Ben. "Don't worry about me, Ben Solo, I'm a big girl," she told him after she saw the uneasy look on his face.

"You really shouldn't—"

"To vicarious living and meeting new people," Rey raised the glass in front of his face, bringing the cup back down and gulping the whole glass worth of liquor. She winced and coughed, "Oh my god, that was... really easy and not at all a mistake." 

Ben looked at her, equally amused and downhearted from her blatant lie. "You really didn't have to do that," he sighed, taking the cup out of her grasp and placing it back on the bar top.

"You didn't want to toast to vicarious living and meeting new people?" Rey pouted up at him, her hands clasping together in her lap.

Jesus, did that one drink already do a number on her? 

"Hey, little one," Poe quipped from behind Ben. Holy shit, when did he get there? "I noticed you invited Rose's sister, Paige. Is she..."

"Still single?" Rey smirked. "Indeed she is, Poe-Poe. But I'm sorry," she winced. "She doesn't have a cockroach costume. I already asked."

Poe's eyes went wide, turning to Ben with a betrayed look on his face. "Et tu, Brute?" he groaned, standing behind Rey and swinging his arms around her shoulders, hugging her from behind.

"Sorry man, she had a gun to my head," Ben shrugged, snickering at his roommate. "Listen, I think I'm gonna go. Y'know, try to beat the traffic and all that."

"Okay, bro."

"Already?" Rey pouted, looking up at him with wide eyes. She pounced out of her seat and wrapped her arms around his waist, planting her head on his broad chest. Ben's breath hitched in his throat, arms in the air, unsure of how to respond. Would it even be remotely appropriate to hug his roommates tipsy sister right in front of him?

Poe delivered a disapproving look to the back of his sisters head, pulling her back to her seat by the back of her dress. "Hands off the merchandise," he scolded her quietly. When she was back into seat, away from the delicious warmth of Ben's body, he brother dipped his head down to her ear and told her, "Ben isn't really comfortable with touching, so ease up, little one."

Upon hearing that information, she looked up at Ben apologetically. "Sorry," she smiled sheepishly.

Ben ran his hair through his hair anxiously and shook his head at her, "It's fine."

Poe arched a brow in surprise at hearing that but figured his roommate was only being courteous. 

"Thanks for showing me around, this was... Fun," Ben awkwardly tried to prepare his farewells. "I'm gonna go now. Bye," he waved at Rey and Poe, turning on his heel with his hands buried deep in his pockets.

Rey couldn't help but ogle his whole form as he walked away from her party. She was pulled back into reality once her brother pinched her on the arm. "Ow!" she protested, slapping his hand away.

"What are you doing?" he asked her. While she chewed on her lip to come up with an answer, he ordered a gin and tonic from the bar maid.

"He's cute," she shrugged, swirling the ice in her cup. She lifted it to her lips and was welcomed with the watered down remnants of the whiskey she'd ordered earlier.

Poe quirked an eyebrow at his sister. "That's a nice sentiment but he's a little older than you."

"He can't be that much older, he looks young—"

"He's nine years older than you."

"Oh, shit."

Rey pursed her lips, deep in thought. Ben didn't look like he was in his early thirties. There was a youthful, albeit awkward, and boyish charm to him. His skin had forgone the signs of age and had instead nursed a bit of a healthy, sun-kissed glow. The image of him now burned into his mind. He was impossible to forget. He was absurdly large and with the way he carried himself, it seemed to her as if he was trying to bring himself down to everyone else's level.

"He's still younger than you though," she concluded, ordering a lighter drink from the bar maid.

"Hey! Respect your elders," he snorted. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair. "If you think I'm trying and hold you back or anything, I'm not. I just thought you should know. I know you're old enough to make your own decisions now."

"Awe," Rey cooed, patting her brothers cheek gently. "Not that I need your permission or anything, but thanks," she snickered, continuing to pet his cheek.

He scrunched his nose and lightly whacked away her intruding hand. "I'm just saying that I know that guy pretty well, and he can be a little awkward around women sometimes, unlike me. We all know how much of a ladies man I am," he gave her one of his signature charming smiles.

"And a cockroach's man," Rey added with a mischievous grin.

He acknowledged her dig with the roll of his eyes and continued, "He's a good guy, Rey."

Rey nodded understandingly. "I can tell," she replied with a small smile of her own. 

"Cool," Poe said. He grabbed his drink from the bar and left a wet kiss on Rey's forehead, most likely leaving her to hunt for his on/off fling, Paige Tico.

It was an abrupt end to their conversation, but Rey was grateful for the peace and quiet. It gave her more time to think of Ben Solo and his long gangling limbs, pillowy lips, and his thick mane of hair that curled around his high cheekbones. She memorised the way his hands felt on her body when she tripped in the stairwell. The memory of his strong grip on her body made her head pulse with want. Her thoughts were immediately interrupted with the telling screech of a firework and a small chorus of "Happy fourth of July's".

"Jesus," she groaned to herself, clutching her chest in surprise. It was still midday and the sun was high up in the sky, so she was wondering who was wasting a perfectly good firework.

She saw Rose and Finn emerging through the crowd, on their way to the bar where she was seated.

"Who was that tall drink of water you were carrying around?" Rose wagged her eyebrows at Rey, clutching Finn's arm closer to her side.

Rey felt a pang of jealousy course through her at their displays of affection, wanting nothing more than to have someone by her side to hold on to. A specific someone.

"Poe's roommate," Rey informed her.

"Slash slave," Finn pointed out with a chuckle and Rey smiled at his reference to the joke from earlier.

"Is he single?" Rose asked, situating herself in the seat across from Rey's.

Rey tilted her head to the side, deep in thought. She hadn't considered it before. Was he single? "I'm not too sure, actually," Rey said.

Surely Poe would have mentioned if Ben had a significant other. He certainly hadn't indicated that he did when he was telling her about how much of a 'great guy' he was. Then again, she had just embarrassed him moments ago with the cockroach thing. Making her think that Ben was available could equally be as much of a genuine push as it was a trap.

"He better be," Finn scoffed. "He kept looking at you like a lovesick puppy the whole time he was up here."

Rey raised her eyebrows at that. If any of that was true, she certainly hadn't seen it for herself. Ben seemed far too concerned with guarding his front at all times. She'd seen how he'd relaxed a little when they'd spoken with Hux and Poe, but that was because they obviously knew each other.

"I think you're blind, bud."

Finn scoffed, "Am not. I've got eyes, you know?"

"Right, so you can see Ben giving me lovey dovey eyes after watching him for 10 minutes but you couldn't see Rose's lovey dovey eyes for you after a whole year?" Rey bit her cheek to hold in the laugh that so desperately wanted to escape her mouth after seeing Finn's defeated expression.

He stuttered for a few moments then gathered his words, "Okay, I maybe be a little blind to love but I'm not _that_ blind," he looked at her earnestly. He stole Rose's drink to take a sip.

She wanted to believe Finn with all her might. The butterflies that were wreaking havoc in her stomach wanted to believe him too, but she couldn't.

Ben was a lawyer. He was a reserved guy. What could he possibly want to do with his roommates sister, who is nearly a decade his junior?

They seemed like polar opposites. Rey could instantly tell that he deplored crowds, meanwhile she wanted nothing more than to be immersed in them. To be part of something livelier and bigger than herself. Ben seems like he wants nothing to do with them, like he'd rather sit alone at home nursing a single glass of whisky, brooding by a roaring fireplace. 

It didn't deter her though. Strangely enough, she found it endearing. After all, she'd never met someone like Ben Solo before. Could you blame her for being intrigued?

"Maybe you're right," Rey responded hopefully.

"See?" Finn laughed cheerfully, taking the free seat on Rose's left.

"He's super hot, though," Rose added thoughtfully, earning a bewildered look from her boyfriend. "Wha— I'm only human!" she protested loudly. "I'm just saying. She's single and if he's single, she should get it in as soon as possible. Can you imagine the _power_ that their babies would have? That guy's body clearly doesn't obey the laws of physics."

Rey snorted at her ongoing statement.

"Pair _that_ with _her_ brain and I think we have the next leader of the free world," Rose giggled, downing her drink.

"Just my brain? Are you kidding me?"

"I'm just saying your brain is, like," Rose hiccuped, "so powerful."

"Okay, that's enough for you," Finn smiled sheepishly, plucking the empty cup from his girlfriend's hands. "You need to stop talking about people like they're in a sitcom."

Rey mouthed a silent thanks to him and left her seat to find her brother with one goal in mind. 

Ben Solo.


	2. Halloween I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fourth of July had come and gone and it was time for Rey to throw another one of her infamous holiday parties. Welcome to Halloween. Will it be tricky or will it be a treat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter was getting a bit long so I had to chop it in half. I introduce to you the first part of the Halloween party!

Rey had taken advantage of her brother's lowered inhibitions on the fourth of July, and there are thanks to be given to Paige's intoxicating charm and the handful of gin and tonics he'd so delightfully consumed, and she had successfully managed to weasel Ben Solo's number out of him.

At the end of the party, after she'd bid everyone their farewells, sobered her drunkard roommates and her brother, she was finally able to relax in her room.

She herself had sobered up from the only drink she had that night, that disgusting double whisky she had taken in Ben's honour (and reluctance). Rey nibbled on her thumbnail and eyed the empty chat history on her phone. His number was already dialled in and she'd chosen a very endearing name for him in her contact list, Benny-Boy.

Better now than never, right?

She mustered up all the courage she had and sent him a text.

> _Heyyy, it's Rey! Your roommates sister and your ex-co-worker/ex-co-summer-camp-counsellor friend's neighbour :)_

She looked at the message with a dejected spirit. Now that she was looking at, it wasn't as funny as she thought it was. Would he appreciate the humour? Even more, would he even remember her? She was about to shut her phone off and pound her fists into the bed until her phone pinged.

> **_Hello, Rey._ **

Such a simple message shouldn't have made her squeal the way she did, all full of excitement and giddiness, but she did it anyway. After the initial delight subsided, she had begun to panic. Does he think it's weird that she texted him out of the blue at an ungodly hour of the night? Well, morning, depending how you look at it.

> _I hope you don't mind. I got your number from Poe and I just wanted to check in and see if you got home alright! :D_

On the other side of the city, Ben was on his bed with the biggest grin on his face. Her caring nature was coming through once again and his heart was thudding excitedly in his chest. The memory of her flushed chest and her toned thighs in that little white dress flashed through his mind and he had to suppress a groan. She was being her sweet-natured self, so he had no choice but to let the guilt wash over him.

After chastising himself for being an always-horny asshole, he quickly responded.

> **_I got home just fine. I hope your party went well._ **
> 
> _Awe, that's good. And it went great, thanks! You should've stuck around. Poe's cockroach shame has spread like wildfire and it's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me xD_

Ben couldn't tell whether she wanted him there just to witness Poe's embarrassment or if she wanted him there in general but he decided that any option where she wanted him there at all was good enough for him.

> **_I'm glad to have been a help in some way. It's good that you enjoyed yourself._ **
> 
> _I can only hope you the same was true for you._
> 
> **_Crowds aren't really my thing but yeah, I enjoyed myself too._ **

He chewed his bottom lip anxiously, waiting for her reply which had come nearly 10 minutes later.

> _Sorry! I just had a quick shower :)_

A fucking shower. _Jesus_. Ben's mind couldn't help but wonder what she'd look like under a shower head, her lithe, soaped up form moving gracefully under the warm water in a bathroom that he'd probably never get to see in his life.

> **_Don't worry about it._ **
> 
> _I hope I'm not keeping you up, Ben Solo. It's pretty late :(_

Ben panicked. He most certainly didn't want to stop talking to her.

> **_No, it's okay. These fireworks are doing a good job of keeping me up._ **
> 
> _Ugh, really? People are still using their fireworks at this time? That's outrageous. Give me your address. I'll give your neighbours a good scolding._
> 
> **_It's the 4th of July, I'll save them from your scolding._ **

He tried to ignore the fact that she just asked for his address. Of course, he knew she was just kidding but the prospect alone was making his blood thump in his ears.

> _Are you sure? I can be pretty intimidating if I want to be ;)_

A goddamn winky face.

> **_You? Intimidating? I find that hard to believe._ **
> 
> _Wtf, why?_
> 
> **_Because you're just... So small. I can't imagine you being intimidating in any capacity._ **
> 
> _Wow, Ben Solo. So doubtful. And it's not my fault you're built like a bull! I can scare your socks off if I wanted to._
> 
> **_Okay, how about this. "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door."_ **
> 
> _[Attached Image]  
>  Wow.  
> Okay, you did this to me._

Ben's eyes bulged out of his head as he looked at the image she'd just sent him. It was of the front of her shirt, which read _'may the force be with you'_. Her head was cropped out but he could see the fair skin of her neck and a few strands of loose hair brushing against her shoulders. Beneath the thin white fabric of her shirt, he could catch the shadow of her pebbled nipples, which he most definitely had no business looking at and cataloguing away for later.

> **_Um, did what exactly?_ **
> 
> _I spat my drink out because of that stupid and cheesy story. What did you think I meant?_

Now that he was looking at the picture a little better, he could definitely see that her shirt looked a little wet around the collar. Guilt crept into his chest when he realised she knew he hadn't caught on to the context of the picture.

> **_Oh, I knew that. Just wanted you to clarify._ **
> 
> _Okay, tough guy. I'm gonna change out of my shirt and catch some Z's, but I hope you have a good fourth of July. Well, it's the fifth now, but you get what I mean. Goodnight, Ben :)_

It was a loaded message. Shirt change—as innocent as it seemed, he was beginning to think that she was saying these things on purpose just to tease him—, farewell bidding and a sweet _goodnight_.

Ben had never met someone as sweet and beautiful as she was. Granted, he hasn't exactly behaved in any way to deserve such sweetness in a long time. He knew he was a cold individual, and that certainly helped in his career as a lawyer and in enforcing his reputation as a no nonsense flight instructor.

But with Rey, things felt different.

He felt like the luckiest guy on Earth just to be able to talk to her, and _she's_ the one that reached out to _him_.

> **_Goodnight, Rey._ **

* * *

A couple months had passed since the fourth of July. When Poe got picked up by Ben the week after her party, Rey had been working. Another thing to add to Ben's chagrin, Rey had not reached out to him since that night. Should've figured, he thought to himself, she was only being courteous. Deep down he knew she only wanted to know if he got home safe, but there was also a part of him that wished she had other intentions.

He didn't want to be the one to text her back out of fear that he'd appear clingy. Not only that, she was his roommates much younger sister. Simply speaking, it didn't seem appropriate.

"Rey wants me to invite you to the Halloween party she's throwing this weekend. You wanna come?" Poe stepped into the hangar and into their shared office where Ben was sitting, sipping from his coffee. His fifth coffee, he'd admit with a sheepish smile.

He raised his eyebrows at the invitation, "Oh?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be pretty sick. She has a fog machine."

Ben couldn't help but smile to himself.

That girl sure does love to impress.

"She wants me to come?" Ben inquired, doing his best to press out an uninterested tone. He wondered to himself if it would look bad if he wanted his roommate to know that he so badly wants to be invited to his younger sisters infamously awesome parties, no matter how many annoying people there are.

"Yeah, of course. Look, don't tell her I said this, but I think she has a bit of a crush on you."

Ben wanted to jump out of the chair, grab Poe by his collar and jump up and down in excitement but he stayed in his chair, arching a surprised brow at he'd just said to him in confidence.

"You don't know that," he sighed loudly, gulping down the rest of his coffee. Anything to distract him from the fact that Poe had just uttered the words he'd been wanting to hear for months, that his sister had a dollop of interest in him.

"How do I know this isn't one of those sibling things where you try and embarrass each other?" he asked. "She already whittled a secret of yours out of me and now you're trying to get revenge."

"Untrue," Poe pointed a finger at him. "You might have betrayed me by telling her about the cockroach thing, but that's behind us now. She set me up with Paige again so we're even."

"And you're sure this isn't some petty sibling revenge? Because I'd hate to get sucked into that."

Poe rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "I promise, dude. If anything, this is petty sibling helpery."

"You still don't know for sure if she likes me," Ben sighed.

"She's my sister, of course I'd know," Poe grinned, putting his pilot credentials into his locker and retrieving a worn brown leather jacket.

Ben cleared his throat and leaned back into his chair. "You don't exactly sound opposed to the idea of her liking me, by the way," he told his roommate, looking at him expectantly.

"No," Poe shrugged. "I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of you liking her either because, to be honest, it's none of my business. She's a grown up, you're a grown up, you guys can do whatever you want. Within the legal boundaries, of course. So, like, no planning bank heists together and all that stuff."

"Yeah, but she's your sister," Ben frowned.

He wasn't exactly familiar with sibling chivalry or sibling anythings, considering he's an only child, but one of the things he'd learnt through his life is that you simply don't date, much less screw, your friends siblings. Let alone, your roommates siblings.

"She's her own person, too."

Thankfully, Poe had said that as an indication to the end of their conversation. The shorter gentleman shoved his arms through the sleeves of his jacket and straightened himself out. "Now come on, I gotta tell you about one of my students. Almost killed us trying to get on to the tarmac," he snickered, grabbing Ben by the arm to hoist him out of his chair.

"You're a great pilot, but you're a shit teacher," Ben muttered.

"Thanks. You're a great pilot and a shit teacher, too," Poe replied, smacking Ben on the back.

* * *

"So, what was Ben like when you guys first knew each other?" Rey asked her neighbour thoughtfully, taking a sip from her tea. 

Seeing as he was the only person who knew Ben personally, and wasn't related to her in any way, she figured he was the best candidate to give her a good perspective on what Ben Solo as a person.

Of course, she could just get this information from Ben himself but Rey was nothing if not an eager and prepared person. Eager to know him and eager to be prepared in advance of the next time they were to meet, which would hopefully be at her Halloween if her invitation is to be accepted.

Both she and Hux were sitting in his apartment, which was much cleaner than hers, cooped up by his open window, the clean sill lined with small flower pots containing herbs and succulents, all of which were bathing in the grim Autumn sunlight.

Hux hummed and looked to the ceiling as if deep in thought. "He was much... angrier, I'd say."

Rey raised her eyebrows at that, nodding quietly and sipping from her tea.

"He was full of angst as a teen. Rebellious to a tee, and a grade A asshole. He only ever really checked himself when he was around the kids at the camp which was just for the best, really. I'm glad he did. He was more enjoyable when he was around them, which was why I even agreed to be a counsellor in the first place."

She eyed her neighbour wearily, listening intently his enthralling recount of his earlier days with the man that had been plaguing her mind for months on end.

"And then that fire incident happened at the camp. We can laugh about it now because we've put it behind us, but he initially held a massive grudge against me for it. Once Luke found out about it, he told his parents and they were beyond pissed."

Rey frowned. These events occurred years ago. Were they the reason why he didn't want to spend the holiday with his family? Just listening to the story and having a little context, Rey couldn't see what the fuss was all about. The issue seemed like it could be easily resolved in her eyes.

Hux continued, "I owned up to it, and Luke forgave us but his parents just wouldn't let it go so he ran away from home. We went to college together, studied law and joined the Snoke firm. Then after a couple of years, I left the firm and joined Skywalker & Kenobi. I kinda lost touch with him after that, but from what I've heard, he's been teaching at-risk teenagers at flight school with your brother."

"Wow," she let out a low whistle. It certainly wasn't the story she was expecting. Ben had a loaded history if she ever heard one, and she had one herself, initially being an orphan and all.

"From what I've seen on the fourth of July, he's changed. It's like he's back to his old teenage self, without all that angst and rage. It's a good look on him," Hux shrugged, bringing his cup to his lips and taking a long sip.

"I asked my brother to invite him to the Halloween party," Rey pursed her lips, looking to Hux expectantly. He raised his brows in response and nodded.

"You like him, don't you?" he grinned at her, his chest rumbling with a chuckle.

Her cheeks grew red and she stuttered in her attempt to vehemently deny his inquiry.

"Oh my god, you _do_!" his grin grew wider, his face becoming nearly synonymous with his hair in terms of colour. He was teasing her.

"Shut up," she rolled her eyes at him. She sank down further into his chair as he continued to bellow with laughter. "Are you done yet?" she quirked an irked brow in his direction.

He exhaled noisily and nodded excessively. "All done," he gave her a thumbs up.

"You're the worst, you know that?" 

Hux chuckled. "Says the girl that drank all my wine last week," he retorted.

Rey recalls the event clearly. Plucking Hux's spare key from beneath his floor mat and interrupting his heated couch make-out session with his boyfriend Mitaka, going straight for his fridge and opening the first wine bottle she saw, chugging it down and crying on his kitchen floor.

"That's not fair," Rey whined. "I was emotionally distressed."

"All because you think guys on Tinder are worth your tears, and they're not."

Her scoff quickly filled the air. "Of course, I know they're not worth the tears. It's just been so draining trying to find the perfect distraction. You know Mitaka's friend Snap, in bookkeeping? He seems like a nice guy," she shrugged.

Hux eyed her wearily and shook his head. "He _is_ a nice guy, which is why you shouldn't do anything with him if you're not wholly interested."

A downcast look shadowed her features, the guilt becoming visible on her face. She sighed and nodded. "You're right."

"I'm always right," he pursed his lips and took another sip of his drink. "And why do you need a distraction anyway? Didn't you just say that Poe's inviting Ben on your behalf?"

She chewed on her bottom lip and looked at her fidgeting hands in her lap. 

"That's true," she said. "But how do I even know that he likes me back? Poe knows I like him so I know he's just trying to do the brotherly thing and throw me a bone, but," she sighed, "In what world would Ben be interested in his roommates younger sister?"

He knew she was rambling because she was anxious. After knowing her for a handful of years, Hux was familiar with her tendency to ramble on and on and on. His eyes roamed up and down her seated form, and he smiled at her.

"You need to stop overthinking things, Rey. For one, you're a beautiful young woman. Secondly, you're one of the most intelligent and kindest people I know. You're the heterosexual man's wet dream. What's not to like?" he asked her.

A blush spread across her cheeks as she lightly kicked Hux's foot under the table. "Careful, ginger. Wouldn't want Mitty to hear you hitting on me," she giggled, extending a hand to him from across the table. He slipped his pale hand into hers, offering her a kind eyed smirk. "Thank you," Rey murmured to him quietly. "For giving me some backstory and for being a nice friend."

"Don't tell anyone I was being nice. I have a reputation to uphold," he looked at her seriously before breaking out into a light laughter.

Rey cast her gaze to the clock on his microwave and found that an hour had passed them by. "Ah, those two should be done by now."

"You should knock just in case," Hux told her. "When you're not here, I can _hear_ them and they tend to go longer than an hour."

Rey scrunched her nose, "Thanks for the heads up."

"I'm serious," Hux urged. "It's just this, forever," he banged his fist against the table in a monotonous rhythm to emphasise his point. "Oh, Finn!" Hux scrunched his eyes shut and moaned in a high pitch tone, imitating Rose.

"I said thanks for the heads up," Rey groaned loudly, rushing out of Hux's apartment.

* * *

"Stay still," Rose's tongue poked out from between her lips, her eyes trained on the back of Rey's head.

Rey quickly gasped, "Ow!" she narrowed her eyes into the mirror, catching Rose's apologetic smile in the meantime.

"I said stay still," she huffed. She dragged the brush through Rey's gelled hair one more time and gathered it all into one sleek ponytail, quickly securing it together with a hair-tie.

Rey shifted her head around to see her hairdo from all angles and held back a squeal. She looked absolutely _delectable_. All thanks to Rose. She stood up to examine her outfit in the mirror at length.

From her black kitten heels, her eyes trailed up from her legs which were practically coated in the black latex, and the same went for the rest of her body. The material hugged her toned, athletic form tightly and she couldn't believe that she managed to look so put together.

Finn handed her a black cape and a headband with two red horns.

With Rose's finishing touches on her make-up, a tasteful smokey eye and red lip, her look was complete.

"If he comes dressed up as an angel, that would be so ironic," Rose laughed.

"Hey, if you fart in that thing—does it blow up like a balloon?" Finn asked, earning a slap on the arm from his girlfriend. "I mean, you have to assume that it does, right?"

Rey snickered at his inquiry. "Well, it hasn't blown up like a balloon so far, so no."

"Girl, you farted in here?"

"This is _my_ area, I can do what I want," Rey hit Finn on the arm.

Rose sighed and sat down in Rey's chair, fiddling with her Scoops Ahoy vest between her fingers. "I still think I should've gone with Peggy Fleming."

Finn stood behind her and grasped her shoulders with his big hands, tactfully shifting his grasp through the grooves of her stress, relieving the tension in her body. "There's no couple costume ideas for Peggy Fleming, babe. She was a solo skater."

"Steve and Robin weren't a couple."

"Why are you pouting? You're the one that picked these costumes!"

While they argued quietly with one another, Rey summoned her phone from her charger and saw that she had a text from Ben for the first time in nearly 3 months.

> **_Howdy_ **

Rey snickered.

> _Are you coming as a cowboy tonight, Ben Solo?_
> 
> **_Ha. Unfortunately, no. My horse is in the shop._ **
> 
> _That really is unfortunate.  
>  So you're coming? :)_
> 
> **_Wouldn't miss it for the world._ **
> 
> _You must really like Halloween, huh?_
> 
> **_Well, Poe tells me you have a fog machine. Can't miss that._ **
> 
> _You only want me for my fog machine? That's so shallow, Solo._
> 
> **_I'm nothing if not a man with priorities, Miss Dameron._ **
> 
> _Hahaha. I'm guessing you guys will be here soon?_
> 
> **_Yeah. Poe's just getting some pre-drinks in with Paige._ **
> 
> _Ah, so that's where she is.  
>  You wanna tell me what you're coming as or are you gonna keep me waiting?_
> 
> **_Hmm.  
>  Let's just say, Poe and I will be "flying" in._ **
> 
> _...You're not coming as cockroaches, are you?_
> 
> **_Rey._ **
> 
> _Haha, I'm just teasing. Hux tells me you're a flight instructor like Poe, and with such a short notice invitation, I can only imagine you're just gonna throw on one of your jumpsuits and maybe some aviators for that final touch._
> 
> **_Well, shit._ **
> 
> _Wait omg am I right?_
> 
> **_Uh... Maybe.  
>  I considered going as the devil, but I kinda broke the pitchfork and I couldn't be bothered getting a new one._ **
> 
> _I can't believe I was so on the nose, lmao  
>  And it's a good thing you broke that pitchfork because it would've been awkward_
> 
> **_How so?_ **
> 
> _First of all, I'M the devil tonight. Secondly, it'd be a shame if I upstaged you :/_
> 
> **_You sound so confident that your devil costume would be better than mine. I had a cape and everything._ **
> 
> _Ooh, a cape? I'm shaking in my boots._
> 
> **_Brat._ **
> 
> _You love it xD  
>  And you'll just have to see my costume to believe it, Solo._
> 
> _**Just how blown away am I going to be, Miss Dameron?** _
> 
> _Very, hopefully._
> 
> **_Well, Poe, Paige and I will be there soon. See you then._ **
> 
> _Seeya :)_

"Who are you texting?" Rose wagged her eyebrows at her.

Rey looked up from her phone to see her roommates looking at her with mischievous smiles. "Uh, what's going on?"

"You know you're smiling like a maniac, right?"

Oh. The telling burn in her cheeks told her that they were right. She immediately dropped the smile and shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

In all truth, she had picked a promiscuous costume tonight just to see Ben Solo squirm. Rey knew she looked good, she'd been going extra hard at the gym the past couple of months just to be able to look snatched in such a ridiculously tight outfit.

Her brother might just blow his brains out seeing her like this, and she fears he'll take it upon himself to be her bodyguard for the night, but if she got to see Ben Solo's eyes widen just once, it'd all be worth it.

When the sun had set in the sky, the party on the rooftop was at full swing. 

Rey, Finn and Rose watched as droves of their closest friends and co-workers rolled up in their ridiculous costumes, bringing gifts of candy and homemade food with them.

On the rooftop, it didn't look so different than her last party on the fourth of July. The lights suspended above the ground were swathed in the colours of the rainbow, illuminating the small crowd with disparate hues. Free of the hideous faux grass from Summer's past, thick clouds of fog coated the concrete ground, enveloping everyone's feet as they danced to the music.

The open bar in the corner was fully stocked once again, thanks to Rey's connection with the owner of the liquor store down the street, who she and Hux helped by sending the guy who robbed his store to prison. Essentially, they did their jobs, but the owner always expressed his gratefulness with a chunky discount.

Truth be told, Rey knew Ben was there the moment he stepped through the entrance.

It was definitely because she had her eye trained on the door since the party started, but she wouldn't admit that out loud to anyone. Instead, she'd tell you that she easily spotted his mop of dark hair over the crowd, which was part of the truth, since he easily towered over the majority of the party-goers.

As she got closer, she got a better look at his costume. His dark green jumpsuit had aerial patches on the arms and chest. His suit was unzipped to the top of his midriff revealing a crisp, white undershirt.

Much to her chagrin, and to her earlier guess, she spotted a pair of dark Ray Ban aviators sitting atop his slightly crooked nose, hiding the honey-dipped eyes she had gazed at in the Summer sun, and she couldn't wait to view them in the Autumn moonlight.

With a sinking heart, she saw that Hux had found him first, attempting to spook the mountain of a man in his hilarious Chucky costume.

"Little one!"

Poe spotted her first, bounding over to her and enveloping her in a warm hug. As he separated from her, his eyes grew wide and his brows furrowed together as he scanned over her outfit, a look of shock washing over his sun-kissed face.

"What the..." he looked her up and down, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around, still very shocked at her get-up. As he did so, she saw that he too was wearing a costume similar to Ben's. "Where did you even find a costume like this?" he whisper-shouted at her, grabbing the edges of her cape and bringing it in to cover her front.

"Amazon," she grinned at him. "And you're... Lieutenant Maverick?"

Poe eased a smile on his face and shrugged. "Maybe. And this is my Charlotte Blackwood," he gestured to Paige with an extended arm. She stopped forward and draped an arm around her brother, "the party looks great, Rey," she complimented the scene around them.

Rey thanked her and urged both her and Poe to get their drinks at the bar and mingle in the crowds, leaving her to find Ben.

"Have you seen Rey yet?" Hux asked him, taking a sip from his red solo cup. Ben shrugged and shook his head no.

"Oh, man," he let out a low whistle. "I mean, I'm gay, but after seeing her in her costume, I was this close to suddenly being straight," he pinched his fingers close together to emphasise his point. Ben raised a brow in return.

Hux suddenly choked on his drink and excused himself in the middle of their conversation. "Dude, where are you going?" Ben asked in disbelief, watching as Hux disappeared into the crowd with his colourful striped shirt and denim overalls. Behind him, Ben felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned to find the one person that could actually motivate him to buy shitty 'Top Gun' patches for his jumpsuit on Amazon with overnight delivery, all in a feeble attempt to impress.

There she, Rey Dameron, stood in her tight, body-hugging latex devil costume, equipped with a cape, adorable red horns and a flimsy little pitchfork.

He took off his glasses, gaping at her.

Ben felt the world ceasing to move around him, the image of her in front of him burning into his retinae. Jesus, she was here and she looked like absolute _sin_.

His eyes fell upon her head where her hair was slicked back into an exquisite, high ponytail. He itched to wrap his hand in her hair to pull her head back and attack her neck with his mouth.

And he wanted nothing more than to feel the material of her costume beneath his hands, and with the way she was looking at him, he had half the mind to think that she wouldn't mind if he did. But that was a chance he couldn't take. He shouldn't.

The music did the speaking for him. It was a loud, upbeat EDM song thumping his ear drums and vibrating his feet. The lyrics swam into his mind, punctuating his attraction towards the woman standing before him like a Greek statue.

 _Take a moment for yourself_ _  
Get close with the lights down low  
You and I, and no one else  
I got the feeling that I wanna explode_

"Well? What do you think?" she smiled up at him, jutting her hip and aiming her pitchfork at him. Despite being dressed as the devil, the irony was not lost on him that she looked like absolute heaven on earth.

Sinful yet heavenly. Is this purgatory?

He cleared his throat and did another once-over of her costume, nodding in approval. "It's uh, it's really something," he informed her with a sheepish smile.

"Told you you'd be blown away," she bumped her shoulder up and smirked. Fucking smirked. Okay, yeah, she's teasing him on purpose now. "So if Poe's Lieutenant Maverick then that must make you Lieutenant Iceman. Am I wrong?"

"You are _not_ ," he confirmed. "Jesus," he groaned to himself, grateful for the volume of the music to cover his self-induced suffering. He shouldn't be standing here for too much longer. The blood in his brain was travelling south, and fast, and he can't continue to be in this girl's vicinity for much longer lest he accidentally shank her with his erection.

Much to his pleasure and chagrin she stepped closer and grabbed his arm, enveloping it in a sort of hug. "Should we have a competition and see who can guess the most costumes at this party?"

He looked down at her, catching the rainbow lights swimming in her smokey eyes, her stark red lips turned up into the most beautiful smile he'd never seen. Everything she asked of him was sweet and even though he felt like he was about to combust into flames, he simply couldn't deny.

"You're on."

So they spent the next 20 minutes walking through the crowd, trying to guess everyone's costumes.

_"Miss Piggy."_

_"No, that's Glinda the Good Witch. Come on, grandpa."_

_"Okay, little miss devil. How about that one?"  
_

_"I'm actually a little stumped on that one. I wanna say carrot, but the sprout at the top suggests pumpkin."_

_"I'm gonna say butternut squash."_

_"Oh, come on. That's basically a baby pumpkin."_

They're standing by the grazing table together when Ben notices her grip tightening on his arm. He looks down at her, the concern evident in his eyes. When he sees her, she's wide-eyed and looking to the entrance of the rooftop. He turns his head to see a vexed looking blond gentleman at the door, periodically stepping on his tippy-toes to scan the crowd. "Are you okay?" he asks her.

He sees her swallow and shake her head. "Finn," he can barely hear what she's saying. She looks up at him with panicked eyes and she's already so close to him, but she manages to pull him in closer. "Where's Finn?"

Ben looks over the crowd trying to find Finn's white sailor hat, and he spots him almost instantly. He shouts his name and catches his attention. He points to the door and Finn looks over.

When Finn sees who's standing there, he looks angry. The nature of that mystery guy's relationship to Rey and Finn is intriguing, and an inquiry is on the tip of his tongue when Rey is pulling Ben to the farthest corner away from the rooftop entrance. "Rey, who is that?" he tries to speak to her in the calmest tone he can muster, but he can already feel himself growing irrationally angry.

Whoever this guy was, he was bad enough to reduce this bubbly, lively girl into a scared and anxious mess. Ben flared his nostrils and clenched his hands at his side. He wanted nothing more than to go over there and rough up whoever that bastard was, but the need to stay by her side and comfort her had taken precedence over those instincts.

"Rey, talk to me," he's bending down a little so he can get to her eye-level.

She's looking away from his face when she speaks to him, afraid to meet his gaze.

"I can't..."

He watched attentively as she wrung her hands together nervously. 

"Rey," he tucked a curled finger under her chin to make her look up at him. "You're safe with me, okay?"

She chewed her bottom lip in contemplation, blinking slowly.

"He's my ex-boyfriend," she swallowed thickly. "And... things didn't end very well between us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that played at the party was 'Gecko (Overdrive) by Oliver Heldens X Becky Hill'. Feel free to peruse the links down below if you want to listen! :)
> 
> [SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/ffrr-records/oliver-heldens-x-becky-hill-gecko-overdrive-radio), [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt25H3OqT5g%20rel=) or [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/4yRS1DM5gRtXCd6HThwqDK%20rel=)


End file.
